Photovoltaic Properties of CdSe Quantum Dot Sensitized Inverse Opal TiO2 Solar Cells: The Effect of TiCl4 Post Treatment

Recently, semiconductor quantum dot (QD) sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) are expected to achieve higher conversion efficiency because of the large light absorption coefficient and multiple exciton generation in QDs. The morphology of TiO2 electrode is one of the most important factors in QDSSCs. Inverse opal (IO) TiO2 electrode, which has periodic mesoporous structure, is useful for QDSSCs because of better penetration of electrolyte than conventional nanoparticulate TiO2 electrode. In addition, the ordered three dimensional structure of IO-TiO2 would be better for electron transport. We have found that open circuit voltage Voc of QDSSCs with IO-TiO2 electrodes was much higher (0.2 V) than that with nanoparticulate TiO2 electrodes. But short circuit current density Jsc was lower in the case of IO-TiO2 electrodes because of the smaller surface area of IO-TiO2. In this study, for increasing surface area of IO-TiO2, we applied TiCl4 post treatment on IO-TiO2 and investigated the effect of the post treatment on photovoltaic properties of CdSe QD sensitized IO-TiO2 solar cells. It was found that Jsc could be enhanced due to TiCl4 post treatment, but decreased again for more than one cycle treatment, which indicates excess post treatment may lead to worse penetration of electrolyte. Our results indicate that the appropriate post treatment can improve the energy conversion efficiency of the QDSSCs

Electronic structures of two types of TiO2 electrodes: inverse opal and nanoparticulate cases

We present a comparison between the electronic structures of inverse opal (IO) and nanoparticulate (NP)-TiO2 electrodes. The electronic structure details were obtained from optical absorption, fluorescence, and valence band studies in order to clarify the nature of the higher photovoltaic performance observed in sensitized solar cells using IO-TiO2 electrodes. We used photoacoustic (PA) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy to characterize the optical absorption and fluorescence properties, respectively. Photoelectron yield (PY) spectroscopy was applied to characterize the position of the valence band maximum (VBM) of the IO- and NP-TiO2 electrodes. The PA spectrum for IO-TiO2 is different to that for NP-TiO2, indicating differences in the exciton–phonon interactions and the density of states in the conduction band. PL measurements showed that the curvature of the valence band structure of IO-TiO2 is different to that of NP-TiO2. Also, PL measurements showed that the oxygen vacancy in IO-TiO2 is different to that in NP-TiO2. Moreover, PY measurements showed VBM in IO-TiO2 to be at a higher position than that in NP-TiO2, suggesting a correlation with the increased open circuit voltage (Voc) in sensitized solar cells

Ultrafast characterization of the electron injection from CdSe quantum dots and dye N719 co-sensitizers into TiO2 using sulfide based ionic liquid for enhanced long term stability

Combination of inorganic quantum dots (QDs) and organic/metallorganic dyes as supracollectors nanocomposites could have an important role on the development of efficient photovoltaic devices based on the synergistic action of the hybrid-sensitizers. Here we have analyzed the combination of CdSe QDs and polypyridil N719 ruthenium dye. By ultrafast transient grating measurements we show that the cascading structure (type II) of this system takes full advantage to augment electron injection and hole regeneration efficiencies. Co-sensitized TiO2 electrodes lead to an improvement in charge separation, increasing the number of injected electrons from the CdSe QDs to the TiO2 as a consequence of the suppression of back reaction, by fast regeneration of holes by the dye action. The potentiality of this supracollector system has been verified in a complete cell configuration. Sulfide/polysulfide based ionic liquid in which both sensitizers (QD and dye) are stable has been employed as hole conducting media. In spite of the limited efficiencies of the analyzed cells, the higher photocurrents measured for CdSe/N719 co-sensitization compared to the cells sensitized using a single sensitizer constitutes a valid proof of the concept. Impedance spectroscopy unveiled the recombination limitation of the analyzed cells. On the other hand, ionic liquid exhibits an enhanced cell stability maintaining cell efficiency after one week and keeping it at 80% after 21 days. The reported results highlight a huge potential of the synergetic combination of QD and dyes for improving solar cell performance and of novel sulfide/polysulfide ionic liquid-based electrolytes for enhancing long term stability and sustainability of QD sensitizers

Tribbles 3 Mediates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Insulin Resistance in Skeletal Muscle

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress has been linked to insulin resistance in multiple tissues but the role of ER stress in skeletal muscle has not been explored. ER stress has also been reported to increase tribbles 3 (TRB3) expression in multiple cell lines. Here, we report that high fat feeding in mice, and obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans significantly increases TRB3 and ER stress markers in skeletal muscle. Overexpression of TRB3 in C2C12 myotubes and mouse tibialis anterior muscles significantly impairs insulin signaling. Incubation of C2C12 cells and mouse skeletal muscle with ER stressors thapsigargin and tunicamycin increases TRB3 and impairs insulin signaling and glucose uptake, effects reversed in cells overexpressing RNAi for TRB3 and in muscles from TRB3 knockout mice. Furthermore, TRB3 knockout mice are protected from high fat diet-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. These data demonstrate that TRB3 mediates ER stress-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle

Ablation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase α\alpha2 Activity Exacerbates Insulin Resistance Induced by High-Fat Feeding of Mice

Objective: We determined whether muscle AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has a role in the development of insulin resistance. Research Design and Methods: Muscle-specific transgenic mice expressing an inactive form of the AMPK $\alpha$2 catalytic subunit ($\alpha$2i TG) and their wild-type littermates were fed either a high-fat (60% kcal fat) or a control (10% kcal fat) diet for 30 weeks. Results: Compared with wild-type mice, glucose tolerance in $\alpha$2i TG mice was slightly impaired on the control diet and significantly impaired on the high-fat diet. To determine whether the whole-body glucose intolerance was associated with impaired insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle, glucose transport in response to submaximal insulin (450 $\mu$U/ml) was measured in isolated soleus muscles. On the control diet, insulin-stimulated glucose transport was reduced by $\sim$50% in $\alpha$2i TG mice compared with wild-type mice. High-fat feeding partially decreased insulin-stimulated glucose transport in wild-type mice, while high-fat feeding resulted in a full blunting of insulin-stimulated glucose transport in the $\alpha$2i TG mice. High-fat feeding in $\alpha$2i TG mice was accompanied by decreased expression of insulin signaling proteins in gastrocnemius muscle. Conclusions: The lack of skeletal muscle AMPK $\alpha$2 activity exacerbates the development of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance caused by high-fat feeding and supports the thesis that AMPK $\alpha$2 is an important target for the prevention/amelioration of skeletal muscle insulin resistance through lifestyle (exercise) and pharmacologic (e.g., metformin) treatments

Slow hot carrier cooling in cesium lead iodide perovskites

Lead halide perovskites are attracting a great deal of interest for optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, LEDs, and lasers because of their unique properties. In solar cells, heat dissipation by hot carriers results in a major energy loss channel responsible for the Shockley–Queisser efficiency limit. Hot carrier solar cells offer the possibility to overcome this limit and achieve energy conversion efficiency as high as 66% by extracting hot carriers. Therefore, fundamental studies on hot carrier relaxation dynamics in lead halide perovskites are important. Here, we elucidated the hot carrier cooling dynamics in all-inorganic cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) perovskite using transient absorption spectroscopy. We observe that the hot carrier cooling rate in CsPbI3 decreases as the fluence of the pump light increases and the cooling is as slow as a few 10 ps when the photoexcited carrier density is 7 × 1018 cm−3, which is attributed to phonon bottleneck for high photoexcited carrier densities. Our findings suggest that CsPbI3 has a potential for hot carrier solar cell applications